Cold Fusion
by Senkusha
Summary: Yggdrasil is broken and a secret military operation are underway. How are these connected? And what does any of this have to do with Skuld and young boy named Sam?
1. Seperation

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

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It was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky. It was warm enough to just start tempting the ocean for a swim. Birds chirped all around. Belldandy was in the kitchen cooking some majestic breakfast, while Urd was in her room watching her favorite television program. Keiichi was outside attempting to get the lawn mower to work.

"Well, let's see……the spark plug looks good. Hmmm, how about the air filter?..." Keiichi mumbled to himself. He was on the patio with the lawn mower flipped up on its side.

"Keiichi, what wrong with the lawn mower?" Skuld asked from behind, nearly scaring the bajezzus out of Keiichi.

"YAYAA!!" Keiichi screamed, "Oh, it's only you, Skuld.", he finished flatly.

"Only…..me….?" Skuld's eyes glared at Keiichi.

Keiichi backed away from Skuld, falling over backwards as he tripped over the lawn mower. Skuld calmed down and helped Keiichi up. "So, what's wrong with the lawn mower?" she asked again.

"I don't know. For some reason it won't start. It worked fine yesterday." he said recapping the prior day's events

"Okay, well, why don't I take a look at it? It is fairly inefficient anyway….I mean come on…..you have to refuel this thing every hour it seems like…" Skuld said as she started to dismantle the lawn mower. Within a few minutes, it was scattered all over the patio.

"I really don't think all this is necessary, Skuld….." Keiichi started, but was cut off by Belldandy's call for breakfast.

"You go on ahead and eat….I'll come in when I'm finished!" Skuld said, not turning from her work.

As Keiichi was on his way to the dining room, he walked right past Urd's room. He was about to knock, when a very loud explosion blew him across the hall.

"NOOOOOOO!" Urd screamed, in a violent anger filled rage.

Belldandy came running from the kitchen and helped Keiichi up; both of them peered into the room, to find Urd staring at an "Important News Bulletin"

"Oh, it's just a news story…." Keiichi started, but was furiously cut off by Urd's outburst.

"Just….a news…..story! They interrupted my favorite TV program for this!" Urd said pointing at the news reporter.

"Oh my!" Belldandy exclaimed

"…..and China are not accepting any diplomatic negations at this time. Once again. Russia and China have declared war against Thailand for their further development of nuclear weapons and testing of those weapons so close to their national border…."

"That's can't be good", Keiichi said plainly.

"Something is very wrong….this should not be happening!" Belldandy insisted, and then yelled for Skuld, "Skuuuullllddd! ... Skuullld?!"

"I'll go get her….she's outside fixing the lawn mower." Keiichi volunteered.

Keiichi walked outside to where Skuld was hammering away. Her new lawn mower modifications were almost complete.

"Skuld?" Keiichi started.

"Excuse me?" a woman in her early 20's asked as she approached the Keiichi and Skuld.

"Yes? How may we help you?" Keiichi responded, as he looked onto the slender woman. Her blonde hair blew in the breeze.

"I am looking for the Goddess Second Class, Skuld" she said outright.

Skuld dropped her hammer and turned around to see the woman; Keiichi just looked deadpanned, in a state of shock.

"I was told that she was here—right now……" she paused for a moment, and then continued, "By the Almighty One.", she said smiling.

Skuld stood up and approached the woman.

"The ….. Almighty….One…?" Skuld said in disbelief.

"Oh, yes! Skuld, there you are! Thank goodness! Quickly, there is no time to lose! You must go back to Heaven and fix Yggdrasil--You're the only one who can fix it!" she said with a deep urgency and concern.

"But…..I…..I can't! Not yet! No WAY!" Skuld prominently refused.

"Yes, you must, sister." Belldandy said placing her arm on her shoulder from behind.

"But I want to stay with you--", Skuld said as she began to weep.

"I will be fine here. I have Mr. Keiichi and Urd to look after me. I know that there must be a very good reason the Almighty One has called upon you for this task, Skuld.", Belldandy said smiling at her sister.

"But…" Skuld started again, and was cut off by the blonde goddess, "I am sorry, I must leave now, I have another assignment I must attend to right now. Please, Skuld, you must leave right now! I cannot depart for my mission until I have confirmed you have left for Heaven."

"Oh, very well…." Skuld started. "I will miss you, Belldandy, and even you too, Urd. But I promise to be back as soon as I can! After all, I can't let you have all the time with my sister!" Skuld glared at Keiichi, and without a moment longer, Skuld jumped into bird bath, vanishing from sight. The others turned to the other goddess, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Well, that was brief", Urd said monotonously.

"Oh do be careful, Skuld." Belldandy thought to herself, still staring at the bird bath.

Skuld arrived back in heaven, and was expecting to see a catastrophe; however, she was greeted with silence and emptiness. She found Yggdrasil, it had been powered off and was waiting in a "Stand By" mode. She went to go find the Almighty One, but he had beat her to it. He stood there behind her and started to explain.

"After you had left, things had gotten much more worse. The system tried to counteract the forces that were at conflicting with the goal of the program, but it was overrun by bugs…far too many bugs. The system ultimately crashed, and we were unable to reboot the server. Now, I have had to send everyone out on special missions to clean up the bugs on Earth, before it's too late. I myself must go on a special mission. I am sorry to inconvenience you, Skuld, however, you are the only one in Heaven that could possibly fix the server, and prevent it from crashing again." The Almighty One said from behind Skuld.

"Do you mean that I will be …..completely…..alone….here?", Skuld stammered, tears welling up in her eyes. But she received no reply. She turned around and there was nothing, just the door she entered into the control room by.

"I ….don't want to be ….. alone!", Skuld cried, as she collapsed onto the floor, balling her eyes out. The echo of her tears hitting the floor was even more of a reminder that she was indeed, completely alone.

After a few minutes of sobbing until she could no longer cry, she sat there, glaring at Yggdrasil.

A few more minutes passed by. She finally stood up, and walked over to the control panel. Accessing the main switch, she booted the server, only to be greeted by lots, and lots of error messages and codes. In only about half a minute, the server shut back down again.

"Awww, man! This sucks!" Skuld said frustratingly. "Fine, then I'll have to fix you up….no I'll make you better! And then……big sister contract will be…fixed! And she'll be able to come to visit me whenever she'd like!" a giant smile grew on the young girls face. She went over to the main access panel, and started to take Yggdrasil apart, one piece at a time.

Meanwhile, in a refurbished missile silo, a group of elite research scientists under the commission of General Yatoga were conducting experiments to create electrical power….

"Sir, I know that it hasn't worked in the past, but Cold Fusion will be a success! Think of the implications……a clean, efficient, reusable power source with unlimited power potential! All the while, sitting right under our noses!" Lead Scientist Adam Williams exclaimed as he held up a glass of water.

"I don't really don't care!" General Yatoga stated plainly. "You've had over three years to get this project working, and all I've seen is failure after failure! Get this through that head of yours: If you don't have a success with this next test, consider the project closed—End of story." Yatoga cautioned.

"But--", Williams started.

"End ….of …..story….", Yatoga reiterated, holding his finger upright.

"Okay, sir. We'll make sure we get it to work this time. I feel pretty confident about our equations this time around." Williams said with confidence.

"Very well. When is your next test?" the general asked in an upward tone.

"As a matter of fact, it's scheduled for fifteen-hundred, this afternoon." Williams responded.

"Okay. I'll be looking forward to reading your report. I…..will be unable to attend this test personally. I've been recalled to the States to meet with the Secretary of Defense. This whole China/Russian thing is really wrecking havoc with the nations of the world…"

"You won't be disappointed, sir!"

After a while, back in Heaven, Skuld was just finishing putting Yggdrasil back together. She had made significant modifications to the core of the system, and even included a new balancing circuit and interface to help ward off unwanted bugs. Skuld backed up to admire her work. A large smile crept on her face, as she clasped her hands under her chin. Her eyes grew wide and almost jumped up and down with joy.

"Finally, it's finished! And with this new balancing circuit, those bugs should be a thing of the past! Soon, I'll be back on Earth, with Belldandy at my side again! Okay…it's time to boot Yggdrasil back up. I really hope this works!" Skuld said with anticipation in her voice.

She reached over to the main switch, and flipped it upwards. A gentile humming sound filled the room, and various lights and indicators came online.

"COOL! It's all green!" Skuld squealed as she bounced from one foot to the other. "Looks like it's time to start the balancing circuit…"

Skuld reached over and turned a dial-handle counter-clockwise a quarter of a turn, then pushed it inwards until she heard a click, indicating that the circuit was "primed".

"One last check…Okay, Yggdrasil appears to be working within normal parameters! Balancing circuit is almost at full power…."

The new addition that Skuld built started spraying water in a gentle fountain like ambiance. The basin at the bottom began to fill with warm water. There was a light in the middle that caused the streams of water to glitter various colors of the spectrum. When the system came to full power, the light turned a brilliant white color, and Skuld could hear the engine in the background winding upwards.

"Awesome! It's working!...Of course…I'm a genius! I shouldn't have been too concerned….after all The Almighty One selected me for this task….and nobody else!" Skuld said to herself, and then giggled hysterically.

At the same time, back on Earth, Adam Williams had begun the initiation of his masterpiece. Various voices could be heard shouting one status after another…

"Main tank is sixty-five percent full!"

"Primary Capacitor Array is charged to one-hundred percent!"

"Alright, everybody, look sharp….it's this time…..or no time!"

"Main tank is at ninety-six percent capacity!"

"All sensors are GREEN! Proceed with countdown!"

"System start in T- minus sixty seconds…" a voice was overheard the P.A. system

"Are you absolutely positive, this water is one-hundred percent pure….of anything?" Adam said to his assistant.

"Positive…I ran the test five times, myself."

"Alright, close the blast doors….evacuate the research lab…." Adam commanded

"T- minus twenty seconds…" the P.A. voice dictated again.

"Stand by to inject the radioactive particles into the isotope accelerator!" Adam commanded again.

"T- minus ten seconds…" the announcement came again from above.

What Skuld didn't realize is that there was a small blue electrical arcing coming between Yggdrasil and her Balancing circuit, that was quickly building in intensity. Then she heard a large POP.

"Huh?!" Skuld looked over to her new circuit to see a puff of smoke and lots more little sparkles of electric current arcing between the two machines.

"Oh noooooooooo!" Skuld said, racing to the master switch of her Balancer. She stepped into the warm water of the basin and reached for the switch, however, she was too late. Another loud POP sound erupted from the console and engulfed her in an electro-magnetic current. Skuld was ripped out of the control room by a teleportation accident and ended up only God-Knows-Where.

T – minus three …..two….one…..zero….Initiating Super Conductivity now…", the voice echoed.

The tank full of crystal clear water froze very rapidly. At the same time, a bright radiance of light was emitted from the tank.

"Critical Warning! System Hull Breach in Master Coolant Chamber! Unable to abort freezing process!" a distressed alarm announced.

"Oh crap!" Not…now! Everybody brace for--

A huge explosion rocked the complex.

Adam sighed deeply. "What's the damage." he said in an extremely disappointed voice.

"Let's just say that I'm glad I'm not the one who's going to inform the General about this….." Adam's assistance said with a little look of relief on his face.

"Just tell me, please." Adam almost begged.

"It looks to be a complete loss. There is absolutely no way anybody can go in that lab….at least not for another…." his assistant does some calculations in his head, "….oh, not in this lifetime."

"Well, that's just great. Alright." Adam said, reluctance in his voice, "Everybody grab what you can….we're evacuating."

"But what about the project….our research…..the equipment…." somebody said in a panic.

"Don't concern yourself with any of that. The project has been terminated….and all this stuff is probably going to end up on the other side of a nuclear explosion test in a few months." Adam said.


	2. Just a Typical Day

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

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"You've got until the first of the month to either come up with the money, or you're outta here! Got it!?" a stern voice was heard from the living room, followed by the slamming of the front door.

"Mom?"

A boy of the age of 14 entered the room. He had short sandy brown hair and green eyes. He only stood about five feet tall, and was dressed in very loose and worn clothing.

"Oh, Sam." a woman in her early forties with short blond hair answered, looking up towards the boy. "I didn't realize you had come home already. How was school?"

"Oh, the same. What is going on? Why…..are you crying, Mom?"

"Oh, it's nothing dear. Don't you concern yourself with my affairs. We are just a little shy on the rent money this month. I'll make it up by working extra at the market tonight." she said with a small, fragile smile on her face.

"If money's a problem, I could win that prize money by entering in the Science and Engineering Tournament. It's held next week…..July 23rd. I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem!" Sam said with confidence.

"No, I would rather you not waste your time in that……that ridiculous competition!" his mother chastised.

"But Mooooommmmmm!" Sam whined back, "I have to this year! …. If I don't…then…."

His mother gave a gentile sigh. "Very well, if you must prove your manhood in this fashion, then who am I to stop you? Just be careful, okay?"

"You know I will! I'm going to fill out the registration papers…I'll be back later!" Sam yelled out behind him while running out the door.

After a short run, Sam walked up to the registration tent for the Fair, and peeled open the cloth door.

"Oh, hi guys." Sam said running into two of his classmates.

"So, you're going to enter this year….good luck!" Rick said

"Yeah, I think it's about time I put my talents to good use." Sam responded.

"Speaking of talents." Tim paused, "We thought you might like to hang with us this afternoon."

"Yeah, we're going to dig for some diamonds at an abandoned mine not too far from here." Rick finished.

"Diamonds?" Sam thought to himself

"Sweet! Yeah, okay!" Sam gleefully replied

"Good, say….how much money do you got on ya?" Tim asked

"I've got only got ten bucks" Sam said, as he pulled out his wallet.

"Oh, perfect, we'll need to get some gear and food for later." Tim said back

"We'll go ahead and get the stuff. You can meet up with us when you're finished registering. Just take this road straight and hang a left at the intersection of Old Mill Road. You can't miss it!" Rick threw back at Sam.

"Diamonds….that sure would be nice of them to share….for a change. Even if I can only get one diamond, I'm sure it'll be enough to pay the rent this month." Sam pondered.

After Sam had finished up in the tent, he followed the directions that Tim and Rick had given him. He walked and walked, and eventually found himself at a fork in the trial.

"What!?" Sam asked puzzled. He peered right, and then left. Both directions seemed to lead him to the same bleak nothingness.

"Hmmm, well, I'll start out to the right, and if after a while, I don't see anything, I'll come back here and go left!" Sam said optimistically.

After about an hour worth of walking, Sam found himself passing through a fenced gate with barbed wire running along the top. The sun would be setting soon. Sam continued to look left and right, not really paying attention to where he was stepping.

"Humph, well, this doesn't appear to be a mine of any sort. Time to head baaaaaccccckkkkkkkkk!" Sam screamed as he fell through a ventilation shaft.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" down Sam fell, until he was free falling from the ceiling. He could see nothing, as it was pitch black in the room where he was descending. As miracles would have it, Sam managed to land on a pile of cardboard boxes with a loud crash.

"Owwwwww." Sam moaned. He reached into his pocket and turned on a mini-flashlight. The ultra-bright bulb illuminated some things, but it just wasn't powerful enough to reach the end of the massive room. The sound of boxes crumbling echoed around, until Sam found a hard, concrete floor.

"Where am I?" he said out loud to himself. His voice echoed in the dark room, it was the only thing he could use to judge the size of the place he was in.

Sam continued to look all around, waving his tiny light, searching for any walls, or anything that might resemble a light switch. Not paying attention to where he was walking again, he smacked head first into …something. Shining his light up from the floor, he revealed a large clear tank. Sam stood up and walked around the tank.

"Impressive!" and "Wow!" were only two of the words that were uttered from his mouth. Then his light reflected on something he wasn't prepared for.

"I….is that…….a girl?" he said approaching the tank, and touching it with his fingertips. "No. I must be imagining things! That….can't be right. Haaahahaahahaa" Sam said with a light chuckle. He resumed his search and found a computer terminal not too far away. The monitor was blowing warm air from the top vent. Sam reached around and found the power button. A status screen popped on, along with a prompt:

"Activate Emergency Power?"

Sam fumbled for the mouse, which was dangling by its cord off the table. He gently placed the mouse on the table, and clicked the "yes" option. Suddenly a few of the overhead lights flickered and crackled as power was sent streaming to them. Once the lights came on, Sam glanced back up to the tank. He expected to see nothing there. But he was wrong.

"Oh….my……God!" Sam painfully exclaimed, in a state of shock. Sam walked up to the tank again, and this time peered at from all different angles, focused on the being inside of the tank.

"There really is…….What were they doing!?" Sam said puzzled.

He walked back to the computer terminal and reviewed the status screen.

"Let's see…..mean temperature……15 Kelvin! That's like…. " Sam said as he did some calculations in his head, "….600 degrees below zero!"

Sam continued to scan the screen.

"Radioactivity-half life….." Sam read off the screen. His voice died down to a whisper. He looked back up at the young girl, and tear rolled down his cheek. Slowly he walked up to the tank, his eyes fixed upon her figure, until he gazed into her large brown eyes.

"….That means….." he continued to whisper, "….nobody could survive……" He continued to stare at her. "She's so……innocent." He paused for a moment, and then declared, "It just isn't right to leave her down here. She must have a proper burial!" Sam walked back over to the computer terminal and scanned the menu options again.

"Maybe this will do the trick?" he thought, as he read the screen. He activated the command and a status dialog popped up:

"Are you sure you want to disable the Super-conductivity process?"

He maneuvered the mouse to the "yes" option and then a percentage bar popped up on the screen, along with the new mean temperature of the tank.

"Five percent, mean temperature……50 K…….35 percent……….200 K……65 percent…….240 K…."

Sam gazed up from the terminal to see the large block of ice was quickly melting away. He could hear the water draining into a sewage system beneath the tank. The young girl was almost free of the ice.

"I'd better go catch her. That would be such a sin let her crash onto the floor. Besides, she might break into a gazillion pieces if she's still frozen solid."

Sam walked up to where he thought the girl would fall. After a few more minutes, she finally dropped out of the tank and fell right into Sam's outstretched arms. He cradled her body against his chest. He was about to shed a few more tears, but then realized that her body was warm! Then it appeared that she looked straight into his eyes, and whispered, "I'm cold." Sam opened his mouth to begin to say something, but was interrupted by the motion of Skuld's body going completely limp, and her closing her eyes, as she fell into unconsciousness.


	3. Rude Awakening

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Sir! T….This can't be right!" a voice yelled up from a surveillance station.

"What's the matter, Lieutenant?" a reply came from a highly decorated man, sitting behind a desk piled over with paperwork.

"Sir—There's ……ah…..mainframe activity at site Alpha-Kilo-Seven!" the Lieutenant exclaimed.

"That's impossible….from what I read, that base was scrubbed due to some radioactive containment breech. Supposedly, nothing could have survived!" Colonel Jackson sneered.

"Oh, very well. Prepare a detachment of Marines, and I'll contact the General" Jackson finished.

"Yes sir!" Lieutenant Smith replied with a snap.

Sam stood there with the young girl still cradled in his arms. He glanced around and saw the pile of crushed cardboard boxes where he landed earlier.

"That's not quite what I've got in mind…..but I guess it'll do." Sam said as he carried the girl over to the pile of boxes. He sat her down with her back propped up against the wall and started to arrange a make-shift bed. When he was done, he picked up the girl and gently placed her on top of the cardboard. She laid there motionless, the only signal indicating she was alive was her shallow breathing. Sam continued to look around. He eventually found a couple of green wool blankets and a first aid kit. He came back to the bed he had made and unfolded both blankets, placing each one on top of her.

Sam stood up and took another glance at her, and heard the sound of his stomach grumbling.

"I'd better go find some food." he thought to himself

Sam wandered the massive underground complex for a good hour or so before he managed to find some old canned food rations. He also grabbed a small box of matches and a knife. Upon his return he noticed that the girl was curled up in the fetal position and was shivering.

"Oh! She still must be recovering from thermal shock!" Sam thought to himself. Her core body temperature is probably still too low." he muttered to himself. He set down all the foodstuff and climbed underneath the blankets next to her. He pushed his torso firmly against her body. The white and red garment that she wore felt like silk and as he took in a deep breath, his nose was filled with the sweet smell of cotton candy.

"Hmmm, this isn't quite what I had in mind for my first time being with a girl………" he pondered.

Lying there next to her with his arm draped over her waist he took another breath and closed his eyes. Before too long, he had drifted to sleep.

"That's right, General—yes sir….We'll I know……Sir, if I may….these logs don't lie. Somebody has access the mainframe computer terminal from inside the compound." Colonel Jackson said over the phone.

"But really, that's impossible. All outside power was cut from the facility. There is absolutely no way any of those systems could be operational!" General Yatoga explained.

"Sir, I've dispatched for a group of Marines to investigate the area—" Jackson started

"I will want to be on hand as well. Say….Do you still happen to have an….Andy Williams on your staff?" Yatoga inquired.

"Let me check the crew roster…..Yes, here he is. Currently assigned to warehousing…section Bravo-Nine." Jackson replied.

"Excellent. I want him included too." the General commanded.

"Sir?" Jackson asked.

"Yes, I'll want his expert opinion on this matter…after all….he was the lead research scientist on site." Yatoga said plainly.

"Very well. I'll have him meet up with group. They are scheduled to depart within the hour." Jackson affirmed.

"Very good, Colonel. If this pans out, you might be seeing a star soon." General Yatoga said optimistically, and then hung up the phone.

"Wow, something big must be at that site." Jackson thought to himself. Then he picked up his phone and rung the warehouse.

"Get me Williams on the double!" he demanded.

A few hours passed by. Sam was still asleep holding Skuld in his arms. Skuld, on the other hand was beginning to wake up….

Skuld took a deep breath through her nose, and popped open her left eye. She could feel warmth over her waist and against her back. She opened her right eye, and turned her head to look over her shoulder. Upon seeing what she thought she felt, she screamed, "AHH! PERVERT!" as she leapt out of the make shift bed of cardboard. Hearing this, Sam abruptly woke up out of a deep slumber. Realizing that the girl had been scared out of her wits, he approached her with his palms outward.

"I….I'm so…..incredibly sorry for …..that." Sam started.

"Where am I? Who are you?! What happened?!" Skuld rattled off question after question, glancing around the room in a panic.

"Well, my name is Sam….Sam Thompson. I really have no idea where we are, and I only have a clue as to what happened to you." Sam said calmly, but rapidly, attempting to keep up with her barrage of questions. "For right now, please calm down. I will not hurt you. I promise." he said holding up his right hand in an oath like manner.

Skuld had backed herself into a corner. She stared at Sam, and broke down into a cry as she fell down into a crouched sitting position on the cold concrete floor. Sam cautiously approached Skuld, and took a seat Indian Style opposite of her. He looked into her brown eyes, and tried again.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." he said calmly, "Please, tell me your name?" he added a gentile smile at the end of his question for her benefit.

Skuld opened her eyes, to see this short boy sitting on the floor staring at her. He appeared to be in his adolescence. His body wasn't really defined at all. There was no muscle tone or anything else that would be easy to characterize him with. She continued to scan his body, until she reached his face. Zooming in on his small smile he offered her, and then back up to his green eyes. Skuld took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I ……am…Skuld." is all she said, in a very plain, cautious voice.

"Okay, Skuld, it's nice to meet you!" Sam said optimistically. "To tell you the truth, I'm surprised that you survived that….thing or whatever—"

"What?" Skuld asked with a slight bit of curiosity and annoyance.

Sam spoke in short direct statements, "You were frozen solid in a block of ice."

"That's impossible." Skuld returned.

"Well, it's true. According to that terminal over there, you were ……submersed into a water that was over 600 degrees below zero……and according to the date, that was over a two months ago." Sam reassured.

"Two…months?" Skuld questioned. "Oh my! Yggdrasil!—Belldandy! I hope she's okay!" Skuld began to panic. "I've got to get back!"

"Back where? Unless you know of a way out of here, I think we're stuck for a while. Besides, I think you should take it easy for a little bit—especially after what you just been through." Sam stated.

Skuld giggled and stood up. "Allow me to introduce myself" she said blushing for a brief moment. "I am Skuld, Goddess Second Class, Limited License." she said as she did a small curtsey.

"Goddess…..second….class?" Sam said unamused.

"Uh huh!" Quickly, she changed the subject, "So….you must be pretty smart to understand what happened here, huh?, Skuld said, while opening her arms to demonstrate the all-ness of the room.

"Could it really be true?...a Goddess?" Sam thought to himself.

Skuld appeared behind him, and tapped his shoulder, "Focus, Sam, focus" she said winking at him.

"Um, yeah….well, I am a bit of a nerd….I guess." Sam said staring down at the floor.

"But……how did you ……. Why…..?" Sam was at a loss of words.

"Here, let me tell you a story." Both Skuld and Sam sat down. Sam chose to sit facing Skuld as she sat down.

"I am Skuld, Goddess Second Class, Limited License." she reaffirmed, "I was sent on a mission from The Almighty One, to fix Yggdrasil up in Heaven. I had just gotten the final system back up and running again, when something drastic went wrong, and the next thing I knew, I was under the blanket with you wrapped all around me."

"Goddess……Almighty One…..Yggdrasil…..Heaven?" Sam said with a level of disbelief in his voice. You honestly expect me to believe that?

"Of course not. So I'll have to prove it to you, I guess." Let's go find some water, and I'll prove all of this to you. Besides, I'm sure that you'll have some reward for saving my life…" she winked

"What does water have to do with anything…..besides, I don't think you'll find any….from the looks of this place, it's been abandoned since the accident. They've shut off all the facilities!" Sam said pessimistically.

"Not to worry! Water can be found just about anywhere." Skuld said with confidence. "Besides, if I have to, I'll just have to make that contraption over there work."

Skuld and Sam set forth to find the way out…according to Skuld's reasoning.

"Alright men. We're looking for a single occupant somewhere inside this facility. Most likely he or she is in the main lab. Your orders are to find and detain this trespasser. I don't want any casualties, got it!" General Yagato commanded.

"Yes sir!" was the response of about fifty men dressed in camouflage uniforms.

The group of men scattered and entered the compound from various entrances.

"You see! I told you we'll find water!" Skuld cheered.

"But …..that's a toilet" Sam said disappointedly, "What are we going to do with this water?"

A voice was heard from behind them, and a gun cocked, "Halt!" he commanded.

"Come on!" Skuld grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him towards the toilet as she jumped feet first into the bowl.

The solder opened fire, completely obliterating the bathroom with bullet holes.

"Gun fire! Gun fire! Gun fire!" was heard on the radio

"Cease Fire!" was hollered on the radio, "All units report in!"

A few minutes later, General Yagato was questioning the solder that opened fire.

"I specifically said no casualties, right?!"

"Yes sir!"

"Then why did you open fire?"

"Because……because they just disappeared….right before my eyes!" a shaken sergeant responded.

"What?"

"Sir, I know, it sounds like a fantasy, but there was a girl and boy…..they jumped into the latrine, and vanished!"

"A girl and boy, huh? Describe them. I want to know everything!" Yagato directed calmly.

"Well, the boy was blonde, white skinned, and had on a pair of blue jeans and a green tee shirt, he looked to be somewhere around 15. The girl on the other hand…..she was dressed in …..a silk robe or something. She had long black hair that went down her back, and….was also white toned. She didn't look a day over 12, sir. Oh, and she had a funny mark on her forehead….looked like a circle or something."

"Very well." Yagato answered. "Set up a search for these two kids. I want them found, pronto!"

"Yes sir!" a Lieutenant sounded.

"How could to children break into a sealed complex like this?" he pondered to himself.

"And get me Williams. I want to know if this contraption works at all!"

"Yes sir!"


	4. Heavenly Duty

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"AAAAHHHHHHHH" Sam screamed. All he could see was a rainbow-spiral all around him. Although he couldn't see Skuld in front of him, he could still feel her hand grasping his wrist. Within a moment, the spiral faded, and he stood in a new place, a truly beautiful place.

"Wooooooooooooow" Sam gasped in awe. "Where is this place?"

"Welcome to Heaven, Sam!" Skuld said with a slight giggle.

"Oh, hi Skuld, welcome back. The Almighty One wants to see you in his office. Now." Peorth said with a stale tone.

"T…The Almighty One…..wants…..me?" Skuld quivered with the thought that she did something wrong.

"Yup. He's been waiting for you to show up for a while now." Peorth chastised. "Oh, and I'll take real good care of your friend here." she said putting her arm around Sam's waist, pulling him close to her side.

Sam grunted as the wind was knocked out of him, and then bounced back away from Peorth a few inches.

"Hey! Watch it, Peorth!—" Skuld said with vengeance. "Sam, I'll be back shortly." she continued in a sweet voice while glaring at Peorth. After a few moments of exchanging glares, Skuld turned and started walking to the Almighty One's office.

The Almighty One's office was more like a mansion, and was really only a short walk from where Skuld originally left. However, to Skuld, the journey seemed to take forever. As soon as she entered the lounge, an assistant pointed Skuld down the hall, informing her to turn right at the flower garden and then follow the corridor until she reaches two large mahogany doors.

Skuld followed her instruction, and having never really been in His office before was taken a bit back with all there was that filled the massive hallway. The flower garden that she passed by, was exquisite, with beautiful flowering plants, some of which she had never seen before, and some had such a seductive fragrance that even Urd couldn't match with her potions. As she continued to walk, she felt different and was filled with feelings she had never felt before.

Once she had passed the garden, she continued on through a scenic hallway. The walls varied in colors, shifting often between reds, greens, and blues. Above her, she could hear birds cheerfully chirping and floor was as soft as freshly cut grass. After a few more moments of walking, Skuld had reached the two massive doors. She pulled one open, just barely enough for her to slip into the next room.

"Oh, come on in, Skuld. I've been expecting you." Skuld heard from around the corner. In front of her was a round Mother-of-Pearl table that could easily fit eight people. On top of the table was a huge dish of ice cream. There was everything from Vanilla to Mint to Peanut Butter Fudge. It had to be at least a couple of gallons worth, sitting there perfectly scooped right in front of Skuld. Off to the side there was file folder and a pen laying across it in a diagonal fashion.

"Eat up, Skuld, you've had quite a difficult job, and you deserve to recharge for all your hard work." the Voice came from around the corner.

"Thank…you….Almighty One." Skuld said with a hint of hesitation as she sat down and started to shovel cold ice cream into her mouth.

The ice cream was a definite treat; it tasted like nothing she had ever had before. It was sweet and creamy and melted in her mouth at just the right moment. It also had an aphrodisiac-like effect which Skuld had failed to notice.

"I noticed you met a friend while you were down on Earth." again the Voice said from around the corner.

"Um, yes. I did. His name is Sam. But how--" Skuld responded inquizically.

"What happened to you was most unfortunate……." He paused. "…. Have you had a chance to thank him yet?" the Almighty One asked rhetorically.

"No." Skuld said between gulps, "I haven't seen Belldandy yet to—"

"Why would you need your sister, Skuld?" He asked.

"Because….I don't—" Skuld started but was interrupted again.

"Do you see that folder in front of you?" the Almighty One asked.

"Yes." as she moved the pen off the top of the folder to examine the contents of the folder. When she opened the flap, she started to choke on her ice cream in mid gulp.

"Since you've done such a great job up here with Yggdrasil, and you've seen Belldandy in action here's your chance to reward Sam appropriately." He paused. "Just sign that License Waiver, and begin your training as a First Class goddess."

"But……….." Skuld choked out, "I haven't gotten my Second Class powers yet— I'm too young—" Skuld protested.

"This isn't a permanent upgrade, and you still have to pass the official exam, when the time is right. This only upgrades your access level, and most importantly, allows you to reward the good deeds of those around you." He said with a reminding tone.

Skuld picked up the pen and skimmed over the terms and conditions of the waiver, and then hastily signed her name, making the contract effective.

"You will still be a Category One goddess, and your primary duties will still include the upkeep of Yggdrasil, however, for the time being, you will be spending your time on Earth."

"What will I be doing on Earth? How can I maintain Yggdrasil down there?" Skuld asked.

"I'm sending you on another mission. This one is a personal one, just for you. …… and Sam." He ended with a small chuckle.

"Now please go meet up with him, and return to Earth."

"Um, yes……Thank you, Almighty One." Skuld said very quickly. Without a moment of delay, she left his office. Skuld practically ran back to where she left Sam and Peorth. When she got there, she found Sam lying on the floor, face down, with Peorth straddling his back.

"Peorth!?" Skuld yelled.

"What….he was—" Peorth started.

"I don't care! Get off him! He's got to come with to the Registration Office."

"Registration Office huh? So, He knocked you down from Second Class to Third? Or did you get booted out like your sister!?" Peorth began to laugh.

"NO! I did not!" Skuld yelled.

"Really? Well then what happened!?" Peorth demanded.

"Like it's any of your business!" Skuld screamed back at Peorth. "Come on Sam, let's go." she said picking Sam up off the floor and stormed out.

"Where…are we going?" Sam asked.

"To the Registration Office. I have to turn in this paperwork." Skuld said still with a hint of frustration in her voice.

Sam figured that it would be best to drop the subject. This seemed to be a touchy subject to Skuld. The journey only took a few minutes to reach their destination. Once there, Skuld approached the large silver and gold desk and impatiently waited.

"Hi, Skuld! Long time no see?! How have you been?" a red haired woman spoke in a cheerful manor.

"Oh, I'm fine…I guess. I need to file this paperwork." Skuld said without any concern.

"Just fine? Come on….! I know you've got something juicy. After all, you've been to Earth recently, haven't you?"

"Yes. Could you please just file this?" Skuld asked impatiently.

"Okay. Coming right up!" the woman responded with glee.

Skuld handed her the paperwork, and the clerk opened the folder. She carefully typed in the sequence of numbers and letters to open Skuld's personal file and then began to scan in the file.

"What!? WOW Skuld! Congratulations!" she screamed with joy. "You must have done something very impressive to warrant this! If I recall, I think there has only been one other goddess to achieve this—" she continued.

Sam over at Skuld and noticed that she was blushing

"There, all done, Goddess First Class, Unlimited license! Oh, it looks like you've got a message here." the clerk said with cheer.

Skuld walked behind the desk and glanced at the monitor. Pressing the Retrieve key, a message from the Almighty One displayed on the screen.

"He wants me to do WHHHAAAATTTT!?" Skuld screamed in panic.

"Way to go Skuld! That assignment should be a piece of cake for you! After all, you've got your older sisters to help you out…….if you know what I mean. They have quite the reputation now."

"Hey! Haven't you heard of COFIDENTIAL?!" Skuld yelled.

"Sorry about that. Oh, I have one other thing for you." she said as she opened the drawer on her right. After shuffling around for a moment, she produced a fairly thick booklet. "You'll want to study that soon….it's for your test." she concluded.

"Oh, okay! Thank you." Skuld said plainly.

"After you know all that's in there, you should have no troubles with your ….. assignment." she said with a small giggle and looked towards Sam.

"Is …..is there something I should know?" Sam asked reluctantly.

"No." Skuld answered quickly, "Nothing at all. We should get going now." she finished as she pushed Sam out of the office.

"Where are we going now?"

"Back to Earth, I need to see my big sis." Skuld said with a hint of concern.


	5. A New Mission

**Disclaimer:** Ah! My Goddess and all its associated characters are owned by their creator, Kosuki Fujishima ( © 1988 – 2007 ) Any other characters specifically created for this fictional work are fictitious. Any similarity to any persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

My personal gratitude goes to Mr. Kosuki Fujishima for creating the wonderful Manga, characters, settings, and plots that this fiction is based on.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"MMM mmm!" Keiichi said with satisfaction. "Another wonderful dinner selection, Belldandy!"

"I am glad you approve, Mr. Keiichi!" Belldandy said in a cheerful voice. "After I finish cleaning this up, I shall make you a bath, Mr. Keiichi." she said with a smile while tilting her head to the left.

"Okay, thank you. That sounds great." Keiichi said as he gave Belldandy a tiny embrace.

"Oh, good! It's about time you to started to get physical." Urd said, winking at Keiichi.

"Urrrrrd!" Keiichii grumbled quietly.

"It's a shame the kid isn't here." Urd said laughing lightly, "I'm sure she would have flipped her lid to see that display of emotion."

"Urd, why do you insist upon not calling Skuld by her name?" Belldandy asked with a hint of impatience.

"What? She is still kid after all." Urd concluded.

"Yes, but you know that she doesn't like being referred to as a kid. For that matter, she doesn't take well to being treated like a kid either. Can't you have a little more compassion and respect for her?" Keiichi chastised.

"Don't get me wrong, Keiichi --" Urd started.

"Ehhh. I don't want to hear it." Keiichi said pushing his hands towards her and walking away. "I'm going to go take that bath now."

"Mr. Keiichi!" Belldandy called, running after him.

"Humph. I guess I'll go watch some T.V." Urd said to nobody in particular, and walked into the "living room"

"I didn't mean to snap at Urd, it's just that…" Keiichi said to Belldandy. He paused for a moment and looked around the room. The hot steam from the bath water quickly fogged the mirror in the room and a whitish haze filled the room.

"…I miss her." Keiichi finished. "It's been so long now—"

"She is fine. I know she is." Belldandy said with ease.

"Things must have crashed pretty badly up there for her to be gone this long." Keiichi concluded.

"Yes. But I have every confidence in Skuld's abilities. I have a strong feeling that she will be back with us soon." Belldandy said with confidence.

"Why do you say that?" Keiichi asked.

"Because….the System Force is working again, and all the bad things that were happening when Skuld first left have stopped." she said with a smile.

"It certainly will be ……… different with her back……you know?" Keiichi remarked.

"How so?" Belldandy asked.

Keiichi looked at Belldandy and took in her innocence. "Won't you miss being able to do this……." Keiichi stepped forward and took Belldandy in his arms for a long quiet embrace.

"Oh my! Mr. Keiichi!" Belldandy blushed as he pressed his half naked body against her chest. Keiichi leaned in, closer to her and glanced upwards to look her in her sapphire eyes. They were mere inches from one another. With every passing second, their lips got ever closer.

KASPPPPLLLLAAAAAASSSSSHHHHHHHH! Skuld, fully clothed in her white and red silk dress, held a teenage boy behind her as both of them leapt out of the hot tub.

"YYAAOOOOOOOUUUUCH!" Skuld cried

"Hi Skuld!!" Belldandy cheered, still embracing Keiichi.

"Hey! Are you trying to burn me! HEY YOU! Get your hands off my big sis!" Skuld accused running towards the two adults, Sam was still attached to her right hand though, and Skuld bounced backwards, causing both of them to fall back into the tub.

"Oh dear!" Belldandy exclaimed. "Let us help you!" she yelled as she tore from Keiichi's firm embrace.

"Right! Are you okay?" Keiichi composed himself giving a hand to Skuld and her male friend.

"I'm fine. But that water is WAY too HOT! And just what do you think you're trying to do to my big sis, huh!? I leave for a couple of days and--" Skuld declared while staring him straight in his brown eyes.

"Um, Skuld?" Keiichi paused. "You've been gone for at least a couple of months now."

"Skuld, who is your friend?" Belldandy asked, oblivious to the argument just now erupting.

"That's impossible!" Skuld stammered.

"No, it's July—" Keiichi started.

"What's all the commotion for" Urd said as she swings the door wide open. "Oh, look, another visitor! What's his name, Skuld? Is he your boyfriend?" she teased.

"Urd, quit teasing Skuld, she just got here." Belldandy chastised.

"Oh, but it's so fun!" Urd said as she approached Skuld, who was dripping wet. "Here let me help you with that" Urd said as she began tugging on her dress to wring it out.

"Hey! Cut ….it……out!" Skuld screamed. As she protested, Urd worked her way up and grabbed a big lock of hair and squeezed as she pulled downward, allowing the water to escape.

"Stop it!" Skuld said as she kicked Urd in the shin.

"Hi, My name is Keiichi Morrisato, you might want to come over here with us."

"Why do you say that" Sam asked, as a bar of soap flew over his head. "Never mind." He said dodging the soap. "You can call me Sam, by the way."

"Fine! Have it your way! I was just trying to help anyway!" Urd yelled, then pushed Skuld into the bathtub again, causing a giant splash. Hot water rained from above the room, drenching everyone.

"Why you! Take that!" Skuld paused, "SKULD TITLEWAVE ATTACK!"

"Oh don't give me that, you're the one that can't swim, remember!" Urd yelled back, "Oh spirit of the water, I call up on thee, rise up and fill this room with your might……"

"We might want to leave." Keiichi panicked.

"Would you two stop it now?!" Belldandy interrupted.

"Is this normal?" Sam asked dodging the ever increasing flow of hot water.

"They're sisters." Keiichi said and paused, "What do you expect?"

"I've never seen anything like this before, though!" Sam said.

The two men made it outside the shrine just in time to see water leaving through the windows. Just then all the water froze solid.

"Um…what just happened?" Sam said as he slipped and fell backwards on the ice puddle he was standing on.

"Let's go find out." Keiichi said with a bit of panic.

The two boys approached the bathroom. It was completely quiet now. Not a sound could be heard. Keiichi attempted to open the door, but it was frozen shut. Sam joined in and both boys began to pull at the door. Finally in a fit of panic and frustration, Keiichi broke down the door by throwing his body into it. He was quickly stopped by a giant ice cube that filled the entire room. Trapped inside was Belldandy in what appeared to be mid-sentence. Meanwhile, Skuld was lying on the floor with Urd straddling over her body in what appeared to be a reversed choke hold of some sort.

"Oh……my……..god……." Sam said in a state of disbelief. "Am I really seeing……." Sam started.

"Yes. You see three goddesses trapped within an ice cube the size of nice sized bath room. A bathroom that was once so hot that you couldn't see ten feet in front of you from the haze." Keiichi said unbelieving himself.

"What do we do? I mean…..how are we….." Sam said in utter confusion.

"Well, we could just wait for the ice to melt. It is still pretty warm outside." Keiichi said glancing out the hall window at the setting sun.

"Wait. I've got a better idea. I'm sure at least one of these girls has a hair dryer. Why don't we just—" Sam said proudly stating his idea.

"Well, that would work, but I think Skuld may have something better in her lab." Keiichi said as he walked into her room.

"Wait! Are you sure this is right? I mean, just going through a girls personal things like this?" Sam said reluctantly.

"Well, ordinarily, I don't' set a foot in Skuld's or Urd's room. But I think in this case, she'd grant us access. After all, I would certainly classify this as an emergency."

"Okay, so what is it we're looking for?" Sam said

"It's a little cylinder looking thing….about 30 centimeters in diameter." Keiichi said as he opened a drawer.

"What kind of a girl ……look at all this…….junk…" Sam said, digging through a box of electrical components.

"Don't ever let Skuld catch you saying those words. To her, nothing she makes is useless. Everything has a specific purpose. ….. Even if most of the time it doesn't work quite right." Keiichi said as he thought back to one of her more recent experiments that went horribly wrong.

"What do you mean…..they don't work right?" Sam said with curiosity dripping from him.

"Well, take this thing here. I'm not sure what it's really supposed to do, but I do know what it did do." Keiichi took a brief pause as he found the cylinder he was looking for.

"That contraption over there was supposed to help Belldandy overcome one of her more drastic fears." he resumed as both of them walked back towards the bathroom.

"Really? I would have thought she didn't have any fears. She appeared so confident to me. But then again, I've only known her for about twenty seconds anyway." Sam said.

"I think you'll like her. Everyone seems to warm up to her quickly. People just can't help it." Keiichi said while he set a few dials on the device.

"So what happened to Belldandy?" Sam asked.

"After the experiment, she thought that she was a Russian spy or something. It went on for about two days before Skuld was finally able to talk Belldandy into getting the procedure reversed." Keiichi said with a mild chuckle.

"Okay step back. I hope this thing works." Keiichi said taking a few steps backwards. He crossed his fingers and held his breath as he pushed a large blue button on a remote control looking device. Meanwhile, Sam had clenched his eyes shut expecting something horrific to happen.

click

A few moments went by and nothing happened. Sam opened his left eye and surveyed the room. Noticing that nothing had happened he relaxed and opened his right eye. An instant later he turned towards Keiichi.

"Keiichi?"

"Yeah?"

"Nothing happened."

"Nothing happened….yet." Keiichi responded.

A moment later a brilliant flash of blue light enveloped the area. Then came the familiar sound of gushing water and raised voices that started as though somebody had hit "play" from a paused DVD.

"OW! Cut it out!" Skuld screamed.

"Would you two please stop!" Belldandy protested.

"EXCUSE ME!" Sam raised his voice to an echoing boom. All action stopped and all eyes turned to him.

"I'm very sorry for being so rude. But I would really like to know how this room became a giant ice block with all of you trapped in it just a few minutes ago." Sam asked honestly.

All that was received was eye blink after blink.

"Belldandy! Why did you—" Urd accused.

"But, Urd, it was not I." Belldandy stated calmly. She looked at Skuld who was pinned on the floor with her eldest sister holding her down. "Skuld?" she said in disbelief.

"What?" Skuld replied unsure of what she was being accused of.

"You…..did that?" Keiichi said baffled.

Skuld sat there for a moment just gazing like a deer caught in headlights. Then finally after Urd got up, and yanked Skuld to a standing position did it sink in to her.

"Yeah. I guess I did." Skuld said almost in a whisper. Not sure whether to believe it herself or not.

"Big sis? Does it always happen like that?" Skuld asked Belldandy.

"Does what always happen?" Belldandy asked in confusion.

"When you cast spells……is it….does it happened like that?" Skuld said almost in tears.

"How did you…..? Can you…..? Huh?" Urd asked Skuld.

"I didn't mean for that to happen. I just……" Skuld said as she fell down to her knees and started balling.

"Oh, grow up already!" Urd spouted off.

"Skuld?" Belldandy asked in her very concerned way, as she knelt down beside Skuld crying form.

"He…..he said that …..I've……been promoted……to a …..First class license……and that…….I have some special……mission…." Skuld said between tears and gasps for air.

"PROMOTED?! First Class?!" Urd glared at Skuld.

"First Class? Is it true, Skuld?" Belldandy asked with hope.

"Yes." Skuld replied softly.

"But how? You can't be ready for the exam yet." Belldandy asked.

"He gave me this." Skuld said as she pulled out the paperwork and booklet. Belldandy read the approval paperwork, and Urd read over her shoulder.

"But …… that's no fair!" Urd said in a fit of anger.

"Um….I hate to interrupt, but I really need to get home. I'm sure my Mom is worried sick about me." Sam said looked towards the door.

"You can't go anywhere just yet. It's night-time. You can sleep here for the night." Keiichi said.

"But I don't want to intrude." Sam objected.

"There's no need to worry. Leave everything to me." Urd said as she strolled up to Sam, pressing her hip into his hip.

"Urd, cut it out!" Keiichi chastised.

"Oh, you people are no fun!" Urd said as she stormed off into the living room.

"I'll make up a bed for you." Keiichi said leaving the room.

"Big sis?..." Skuld called

"Yes, Skuld?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Yes. Would you like to talk in your room, or mine?" Belldandy asked with a small smile.

"Yours." Skuld said.

Belldandy looked down at Skuld as she got up. Skuld's eyes were a deep red from being bloodshot.

"Okay. I will make us some tea then." she said with a smile, and closing her eyes.


End file.
